Alameda: Spencer, Kahn and Tam win school board race

ALAMEDA -- Voters backed two incumbents and a newcomer in the race for the board of the Alameda Unified School District on Tuesday.

Incumbents Trish Spencer and Nielsen Tam will return for another term.

Joining them on the board will be Barbara Kahn, who came in second among the eight candidates vying for the three open seats.

Spencer got about 21 percent of the vote, followed by Kahn with about 17 percent. Tam received about 14 percent.

While Spencer and Tam won seats, their fellow incumbent Ron Mooney failed to get re-elected. He secured about 9 percent of the vote.

The other candidates were Tom Lynch, Jon Murphy, Kurt Peterson and Michael Robles-Wong.

An attorney, Spencer has four children and has served as the PTA council president. She is the only incumbent to secure the backing of the teachers' and classified workers' unions.

Tam is a retired teacher and principal with the district. He is also a former board member for Girls Inc. and the Alameda Point Collaborative, which provides housing and other services at the former Alameda Naval Air Station to people who were once homeless.

Kahn is a retired social worker whose daughter taught in Alameda schools. Like Spencer, she was backed by the Alameda Education Association, the teachers' union.